New law on hearsay evidence designed to give Hong Kong’s vulnerable better protection in criminal court cases
Government to introduce bill after collapse of sexual assault case prompted lawmakers to call for change ‘as soon as practicable’
Hong Kong legal professionals have said allowing the introduction of hearsay evidence will “assist the quest for truth” and help prosecutors get justice for victims in cases involving vulnerable defendants.
After years of calls for its introduction, a new bill is to be presented allowing hearsay testimony during criminal trials in the city’s courts.
The move comes two years after the collapse of a high-profile sexual assault trial, and more than a decade after the move was first discussed in a Law Reform Commission consultation paper.
The change to the law comes in response to a 2016 case involving the superintendent of a nursing home and one of its residents. The prosecution’s case fell apart because the alleged victim, a 21-year-old woman with the mental age of an eight-year-old, was unable to testify on her own behalf.